European Singing Competition 26
|withdrawing_countries = |voting_system = Each country awards two sets of 12, 10, 8-1 points to their 10 favorite songs.|winning_song = "Areti"|row12 = Previous: 25 Next: 27}}European Singing Competition 26, often referred to as ESC #26, is the twenty-sixth edition of European Singing Competition. The contest took place in Birmingham, United Kingdom. This is the first time that the United Kingdom hosted the contest. The event was hosted by Graham Norton & Adele. The event was hosted in Arena Birmingham with a capacity of 15.800.The host broadcaster was BBC. As in the previous editions every nation was obliged to send a staging proposal alongside the song. It was announced that juries and televoters would give two separate scores in the semifinals as well. Forty-four countries participated in the twenty-sixth edition. The participating countries, except of the host the United Kingdom, Israel, Greece, the Czech Republic, Lebanon and Sweden, competed in two semi-finals. Azerbaijan, Egypt, Finland, Gibraltar, Montenegro and Norway got promoted after qualifying from the Pre-Qualification Round 3. The winner was Greece with the song "Areti" by Pantelis Kiramaryios & Plegma which scored 342 points, winning by a margin of 5 points in front of Morocco. The podium was completed by San Marino, which finished on the third place. The host country the United Kingdom ended 12th. This was the second time that Greece won the event after their first victory in the 15th edition. Apart from San Marino that got third, Norway, the Faroe Islands and Russia also achieved their best results: 4th, 5th and 7th respectively. Location The contest took place for the first time in the United Kingdom. Bidding phase and host city selection Key: |border=darkgray}} Host venue Returning Artists This edition saw the return of Inna who previously competed for Romania twice, once as a solo act and once as part of the group G Girls. Emma Drobna also returned for Slovakia, after already doing so in the very first edition. Faouzia got back to the event for Morocco. Ani Lorak also got back to the event for the third time, this time for Azerbaijan after having already competed for Georgia and her homeland Ukraine. Another returning artist is Alice On The Roof who returned for her homeland Belgium after having represented Belgium and Luxembourg. MIKA also returned for Lebanon for the third time. F also came back for Greenland. Participating countries 'Semi-final Allocation Draw' The thirty-eight semi-finalists were allocated into six pots, based on their geographical place and cultural similarities. Drawing from different pots helps in reducing the chance of so-called neighbour voting and increasing suspense in the semi-finals. Each time a country was drawn from the pot, its semi-final and half of the semi-final was determined. The six pots were the following: 'Semi-final 1' Ninteen countries participated in the first semi-final. The ten highlighted ones qualified for the final. Every country in this semifinal voted alongside the , and . 'Semi-final 2' Nineteen countries participated in the second semi-final. The ten highlighted ones qualified for the final. Every country in this semifinal voted alongside , and the host the . 'Grand Final' Twenty-six countries participated in the final, with all 44 participating countries eligible to vote. Scoreboard Semifinal 1 12 Points Televoting Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's televote in the second semi-final: 12 Points Jury Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's jury in the second semi-final: Semifinal 2 12 Points Televoting Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's televote in the second semi-final: 12 Points Jury Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's jury in the second semi-final: Final 12 Points Televoting Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's televote in the second semi-final: 12 Points Jury Below is a summary of the maximum 12 points awarded by each country's jury in the second semi-final: